When Lord Byron travelled to Greece, in the early nineteenth century, he encountered bandits “on the hills / That look along Epirus’ valleys,” he wrote, “Where Freedom still at moments rallies, / And pays in blood Oppression’s ills.” The Klephts, as these outlaws were called, robbed travellers blind and, more charmingly, helped overthrow four hundred years of Turkish tyranny. Merakia—officially called Merakia Greek MountainThief Spithouse + Steak—is a new Flatiron restaurant that celebrates the Klephts (or, as the owners would have it, Greek MountainThieves) and their love of spit-roasted lamb.

Merakia’s menu traces its origins to another kind of theft, of sorts—“young beautiful and Jewish girl” meets “boy from a Greek mountain village” who “horns in” when she’s stood up at a “wild Greek dance party”—but there’s little here that feels rough-and-ready. The space is lovely and considered. Soft golden lighting is refracted from the coffered ceiling to illuminate whispering couples tucked into mint-green upholstered booths. Between them, Andreas, a flowing-haired Hellene, strides the aisles proffering wine suggestions. Particularly good is a wild-fermented organic Evharis Assyrtiko, a white from Santorini, which “tastes a bit funkier because the grapes are allowed to dry on vine leaves.”

The food at Merakia is excellent, yet manages to maintain a sense of humor. Dancing with the Lamb is a forty-eight-hour marinated cut of meat piled over vegetables. A rib-eye steak is served bone-in, with a pile of oregano and salt to season it. Kleftiko lamb stew (named for a dish made with stolen lamb in hidden underground ovens), redolent of garlic and lemon juice, bursts from a grenade of bread. Among the smaller dishes, the keftedes, or meatballs, are standouts: they sit on a bed of ouzo-infused tzatziki and crumble in the mouth. For vegetarians, there’s “rabbit food” (salad), kafteri (spicy soft cheese), and mac and tiri (mac and cheese made with Greek kefalograviera). Sweets include baklava and honeyed yogurt.

Make sure to try the cocktails. The other night, a mustachioed bartender presented a drink topped with what looked like a maroon Dorito. “Whatchagottado is lick the side”—he pointed to the rim dusted with a spicy red salt—“take a sip, and then have a bite of this. It’s a dehydrated strawberry.” The concoction, called a Metal and Dust, combines pasilla- and mulato-chili-infused tequila, cacao, dark lager, and mole bitters. It was soon gulped down, and another was ordered. Just be sure you stop at two, lest the Greek MountainThieves steal the rest of your evening. (Dishes $19-$65.)♦